Brainstorm's New Nemesis
Graveyard What first seems like piles and piles and piles of more debris becomes, on closer examination, dead turbo-rats, foxes, wolves, plus many that haven't been seen on Cybertron for millennia: fierce turbo-hawks, insatiable turbo-shrews, even a goodly number of Transorganics. All these creatures are long dead, their still bodies silent testimony to slow starvation. Why they came here to die is unknown. Perhaps, like lemmings, they all suddenly decided to commit mass suicide. Surprisingly few of the bodies have been disturbed by living predators; most still lie untouched as they have for ages, their darkened optics still glinting with reflected starlight. Brainstorm comes into view, optics gleaming in the starlight like the dead bodi-I mean things- that he is here to collect. Well, there *IS* a reason Brainstorm gets an ...odd reputation as a "mad scientist" sort, and this is definitely one of those times. "Hmmmm...Oh, you look interesting! C'mere!" The Headmaster says as he grabs an especially tarnished turbo-fox carcass. He slings the thing over his back and looks around for something else. Blurr is out in the strange pile of dead animal bodies near the Petrified Forest, searching for another node access to the drone mainframe. There had been one in the metallic forest to the west, but unfortunately Buzzsaw had foiled his efforts to spike it at the time. There had been some evidence of another one near here, though. And besides, what with Vector Sigma rebuilding the planet city-state by city-state, one never knows when something useful might pop up somewhere. Anywhere...Wait, what's Brainstorm doing here? And why the SLAG does he keep on running into the mech?! MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" spears across the inky night sky, a beige-and-violet streak that thunders throughout accompanied by an eerie howl. Blitzwing sure patrols in the most gruesome of places. Last mega-cycle, it was the swamplands. Now, the graveyard. Does he volunteer for these creepy details? Brainstorm picks up another dead turbo-fox. He holds a brace of foxes now. If he collects nine fox tails, will that make him a kitsune? WELL SLAG< he'll just have to find out. He starts gathering up more carcasses, then his sensors alert him to another's presence. "OH." He looks rather put-out as he sees Blurr in the vicinity. "You." Blurr grumbles when Brainstorm addresses him. "Yes, me. What are YOU doing out here?" he asks, scanning the carcasses slung over the scientist's shoulder with his optics. Tch, typical Brainstorm. The speedster looks up as Blitzwing flies by overhead, and quickly takes a more alert stance, ready to bust his weapons out at a moment's notice. "Uh, looks like we've got trouble." Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. "Oh good. Buy 1, get one free," Blitzwing chuckles to himself as his RADAR pings with two solid returns - large enough to rank as proper Cybertronians, and not some local fauna. The MiG banks lazily, altering course and coming about to engage the Autobots below. Thrusters erupt and power the Decepticon towards his targets, a renewed sense of vigor in the dead of the night. Brainstorm was too busy glaring at Blurr to notice Blitzwing, but now he looks up, too. "Oh." Yeah, maybe this is not the time to continue his spat with Blurr when a frikkin' triplechanger just decided to interrupt Brainstorm's funtime. Brainstorm doesn't let go of his fox carcasses, however. He just grips them even more tightly, slung behind his back. "I bet a guy like him just has no respect for a place like this, amIright Blurr?" (Never mind that Brainstorm obviously doesn't either.....) "Uh..." Blurr doesn't really get why he's asking that question. "Should he? I mean, you don't exactly look like you do, either, Brainstorm." he comments casually even as Blitzwing comes roaring toward them. The speedster is totally not going to let the Decepticons make him lose another potential access point to the network. "Whatever, let's send this guy's sorry skidplates back to Darkmount." The courier's weapons expand out of subspace as he watches the triplechanger approach. Though he glances back at Brainstorm again momentarily. "Um you might want put those bodies down. You know, so you can actually fight." MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" then drops like a stone, verniers flaring up at the last possible second to keep the whole craft aloft. The triplechanger screams across the landscape, kicking up all sorts of corpses as a cannon appears from a bay on the underside of the plane's nosecone. "A point of comfort for you - at least when you die here, I won't have any trouble burying you!" Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" misses Blurr with his Bog Barrage (Full-Auto) Area attack! Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" (Blitzwing) used "Full-Auto": A Level 2 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" misses Brainstorm with his Bog Barrage (Full-Auto) Area attack! Brainstorm looks with a slightly peeved expression at Blurr. Pffft. "OF COURSE I DO. I'm simply gathering metrials for... scientific research. The raw materials don't just grow on turbo-trees, y'know." He ponders. "Well, Ok, sometimes they do, but NOT IN THIS CASE." He grips his dead turbo-foxes even TIGHTER. "YOU DON'T KNOW ME. I am a genius! I can fight with whatever resources I have available!!! ...Including THESE." Suddenly Bltizwing attacks, but thanks to Blurr's warning of the 'Con's presence, he is able to avoid the attack in time. "OH YEAH? Well, I have no intention of dying here, thanks! I have too much important work to be doing!" And as if to make his point to Blurr, he swings the dead turbo-foxes at Blitzwing! Combat: Brainstorm sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Brainstorm misses MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" with his Soooo Foxy!!! (Punch) attack! Blurr watches Brainstorm swing the dead turbofoxes at Blitzwing...and miss. Wow...just, wow. "Slaggit, Brainstorm, you have guns, USE them!" Speaking of guns, he begins firing his own at the triplechanger. "...that was an order, by the way." Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Blurr strikes MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" with his And is that a point of comfort for ME? (Laser) attack! MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" 's vulcan battery lights up the landscape but effectively accomplishes little, if anything at all, in return for the effort exhausted. The MiG's thrusters pique and bounce the craft just over the high point in the turbo fox's arc, though the plane rolls back and down even further to the surface with a groan, the glass of the cockpit now only a handful of feet from kissing the ground. Blitzwing grunts audibly as laser fire scorches his undercarriage, leaving carbon scuffs along its length. However, the triplechanger carries on undeterred - first to impale Brainstorm with his nosecone, and secondly to deposit the Headmaster bodily onto the Autobot courier. "Now don't fight, you two! Here, kiss and make up!" Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" misses Blurr with his Marriage Counselor (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" (Blitzwing) used "Ruckus": A Level 2 AREA-MELEE attack. Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" strikes Brainstorm with his Marriage Counselor (Ruckus) Area attack! Brainstorm tchs. "Fiiine." ...Well, dead animals are really cool weapons, but GUNS are even COOLER. So that's not really a problem. However, he doesn't get a chance to drop the turbo-foxes of his own accord. Blitzwing knocks them out of his grip instead as the Headmaster suddenly finds himself on the receiving end of Blitzwing's nosecone. "OOOF!" He goes flying, NOT hitting Blurr, and lands with a thud on his side, getting up quickly. He dusts himself off and pulls out his Photon Flash Gun. "Hey, Blitzy babe! You want something really hot? Have some "Hot Lights in the Cool Moonlight"!" And he fires the gun, attempting to blind the triplechanger. Combat: Brainstorm strikes MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" with his Hot Time in the Graveyard Tonight attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Thanks to his lithe form, Blurr is able to avoid Brainstorm's bulk as Blitzwing plows into the scientist. He jumps to the side, vaulting over a nother good-sized pile of dead turbofoxes before ducking behind it and using it as cover. "That's what you get for trying to use dead animals as weapons." The speedster grumbles as Brainstorm fails to not only hit Blitzwing, but also at dodging his attack. "Weren't you collecting those for your experiments, anyway? I thought you wouldn't want them getting messed up." The scientist's photon gun flashes, hopefully impairing Blitzwing's targetting systems. "I told you guns work better..." He tracks the triplechanger's movements as the Decepticon flies just above the ground, and aims another shot at him, hoping to hit him while he was still dazzled by the Headmaster's attack. Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Blurr misses MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" with his Guns Work Better attack! MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" collides with Brainstorm, which results in a very satisfying crunch of metal-on-metal. The Headmaster rockets into the landscape, but, surprisingly enough, has the wherewithal and resilience to pop right back up and keep the pressure on the triplechanger. Blitzwing GRAAAH as his sensors go white-noise, impairing his targetting systems dramatically. The MiG begins to wobble in the air due to the effects of the photon flash having partially corrupted his navigation subsystem. The plane bounces once off the ground, and again - preventing Blurr's attacks from finding his hide. Unfortunately for Blurr, Blitzwing is not in control of his trajectory, and is actually careening right for him! Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" misses Blurr with his Chromedome Phonehome (Ram) attack! Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" (Blitzwing) used "Ram": A Level 3 VELOCITY attack. Brainstorm waves a hand dismissively. "Well, PFFT, there's more where THOSE came from, anyway." Handling things with delicate care is not exactly what the Headmaster is known for, after all.... He watches as Blitzwing nearly crashes into Blurr. "Ha!!! See? The scientist STRIKES again! Photon flash= pain in the aft! The poor mech was no match for the dazzling sort of show *I* can put on!" Brainstorm has completely missed the fact that it was his photon flash that sent Blitzwing careening AT Blurr, naturally.... "Brainstorm, I have a question for you, do you EVER shut up?" Hah, funny that, coming from someone like Blurr. The thing is, if this were someone else, like Hardhead, or something, the two of them wouldn't still be bantering--the conversation would have ended long ago. The speedster then sees Blitzwing heading for him, but decides not to jump out of the way. Instead, he throws himself flat onto the ground and rolls over onto his back as the triplechanger passes directly over him, his blaster charged and ready to fire straight up into the Foxbat's fuselage. Hopefully he can time it right! Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Blurr strikes MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" with his Working with Brainstorm attack! Combat: Brainstorm takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Blurr says, "Yeah, unfortunately this isn't a -show-, mech. Even if it were, you're sure acting more like a spectator than an active participant." Torque says, "What's going on, Blurr?" Brainstorm says, "Fine, fine, I thought you had this handled, hotshot. But IF YOU NEED MY HELP, I'd be HAPPY TO....just SAY THE WORDS, pal....." Blurr groans. Blurr says, "Why the slag do you have to say the words? You're here, I'm here, and Blitzwing is here." Torque says, "Oh jeez, Blitzwing.." Brainstorm says, "I dunno....I don't work well under pressure. 'Speciallllly when I feel...UNAPPRECIATED." Blurr says, "So tell me again how it isn't obvious that you should be sending him packing as fast as possible?" Blurr says, "Ugh." MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" whistles past Blurr, receiving a series of pot shots for his trouble, and plummets from the sky only to bury himself into a hillside comprised of dead-animals. The collision is punctuated with a sickening crunch, and a tidal wave of corpses is sent skyward at the force of the impact. There is a moment of silence. Too long. And then that tell-tale sound of mechanized transformation. A moment later, a tank erupts from the berm, covered in decomposing critters, tank barrel evaluating the field of battle. It pans right to left, seeking out targets... Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Blurr says, "Fine, sure thing, Brainstorm!" Blurr says, "Just stand there, and watch me while I fight Blitzwing by MYSELF." Blurr grumbles. Blitzwing transforms into a Leopard 2A6M tank. Brainstorm says, "No, no....I guess I'll just have to answer your LITTLE CRY FOR HELP there, bud...." Blurr says, "Nothing new here, Torque--just Brainstorm and his usual head full of rusted bolts." Torque says, "If you're fighting that guy then you two are gonna have to work together." Torque says, "Not argue." Blurr says, "Yeah, tell HIM that." Brainstorm says, "(*conspirational whisper*) Blurr's just jeeeealooouussss...." Blurr says, "If I were jealous of anyone, it -wouldn't- be you." Brainstorm says, "I CAN SHUT UP JUST FINE. I just rarely feel the need to." Brainstorm then brings out his Photon Pulse Cannon. "Fine. Since SOMEONE is obviously just giving me a sad little CRY FOR HELP on the radio here I guess I shall oblige." Brainstorm tunes some dials and raises his gun, hoping to hit Blitzwing! He pauses to admire all the dead carcasses on Blitzwing first. "Hey, don't take THEM ALL now!" ...THEN he fires!" Combat: Brainstorm strikes Leopard 2A6M with his YOU can't have all the dead foxes- that's JUST NOT FAIR attack! Ha. Blurr smirks triumphantly as his shots pepper Blitzwing's undercarriage, having timed the attack just right. And what does Brainstorm do? Right, he just stands there and makes bad puns. Ugh. How does anyone work with that guy? He suddenly feels bad for the other scientists in Operations. Or anyone who has work with him on a regular basis. Repugnus might be vile and morbid, but Blurr would take his own division over Brainstorm any cycle. The courier chuckles as the triplechanger falls out of the sky and lands rather dramatically on top of a pile of dead bodies. As he'd expected, Blitzwing takes on his tank form, but appears to be hesitating for whatever reason. Well, if the Decepticon learned anything from this encounter, he ought to learn that hesitation doesn't do you much good when you're up against someone like Blurr. It's hard to keep up with him even withOUT pausing, no? While the tank aims, Blurr transforms down into his vehicle form and starts accelerating across the dark graveyard, letting the pressure waves roll off of his sleek form and pop off behind him. He swerves carefully, at just the right angle to send those waves back at Blitzwing! In a flurry of moving parts, Blurr folds down into a pale blue-colored supersonic hovercar. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Leopard 2A6M with his Sonic Boom attack! -2 Hesitate? Don't fool yourself. That may be a fatal mistake. Blitzwing doesn't hesitate. The tank powers through and out from under the dead-fox-hillside, barrel still training from right to left - and past Blurr. It continues to move, coming to focus in on Braistorm. *Pow!* Ablative armor burns away as Blitzwing takes Brainstorm's attack in stride, but does not cease in thundering after the Headmaster *Boom!* Blurr rattles off right by him, sending waves of condensed atmosphere rolling over his hull. The tank shakes, a few armor panels are whisked away, but Blitzwing remains undaunted. "That tickled," the tank chuckles. Machinery can be heard operating within the tank - a round has been pressed into the delivery chamber. "Good thing I brought a gun to this pillow fight." *KRA-THOOM!* The graveyard erupts in white light, the barrel end of Blitwing's artillery arm exploding like a dwarf sun to send a giant slug into Brainstorm's chest. Combat: Leopard 2A6M strikes Brainstorm with his 125mm Cannon attack! Brainstorm is busy admiring all the dead things and not paying QUITE enough attention to what the carrier of those dead things is actually doing. He gets a wake-up call, though, as flash of light nearly blinds him a second and then a slug shatters part of his side. "Aaahhhh!" Oh, Ok, this is less funtime now. "Woah. That's one slag of a gun, too, ya got there....Oof." he straightens back up and swings his own weapon around again to fire again. "But you're not the only gunnut around here!" Combat: Brainstorm strikes Leopard 2A6M with his Guns Make Me Happy attack! -2 Blurr says, "Frag it, Brainstorm! Quit admiring the scenery and pay attention!" Blurr chuckles smugly at Blitzwing's remark. He ought not to fool himself, either...lots of 'tickles' might add up to a lot of hurt in the end, especially if you're having a hard time hitting your opponent, like Blitzwing is having a hard time hitting Blurr. "Oh, that tickled huh? You liked it?" he teases. "In that case, I'll just go ahead and assume you're down for more!" And with that, the supersonic hover car makes a hairpin turn at the far end of the graveyard, then comes speeding back around for another driveby. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Leopard 2A6M with his Driveby Disaster attack! Brainstorm says, "Eeehhhhh....*shrug* I'm beginning to. ...I guess this guy doesn't like sharing dead turbo-foxes." Blurr says, "Tch, guess not." Leopard 2A6M cackles over external speakers as telemetry data confirms a successful volley. The tank trundles off after the victim of the round, banking slightly to present a broad aspect to soak up Brainstorm's return fire quite easily. Tanks do what tanks do. However, the recurring nuisance that is Blurr comes round for another pass, and that sonic boom in tow comes with a little more kick this time. Heavy slabs of armor are shaken free, exposing internals. A few sparks dance across a spiderweb of wires, but Blitzwing doesn't seem at all too bothered by the state of things. "You keep making laps, Lightning McQueen. When I'm done with Doctor Strangelove here, I'm going to introduce you to a right turn." Blitzwing shifts forms again, standing erect in robot mode. With practiced efficiency, he unshoulders his rifle and ignites his beam sabre in a single fluid motion, stalking after Brainstorm while peppering him with rounds. Blitzwing transforms into his robot mode. Combat: Blitzwing sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Blitzwing misses Brainstorm with his Gyro-Blaster Rifle attack! Trudging through the large graveyard, an orange figure comes to a halt before a suspiciously marked area. Shovel hefted over his shoulder, the figure bends low and graces a hand over the ground. "I do this in the name of SCIENCE, Stripey!" the Seeker announces, breaking ground with the shovel. Stripey was Backfire's pet robotoppossum. The player wishes he was making this up right now. Suddenly, the sound of a scuffle reaches his audio receptors! Taking to the air, Backfire scans the nearby area and notices a fight. Is that? "PARTNER BLITZWING!!" he shouts, streaking over towards the Triplechanger. The F-16C Agile Falcon transforms with that ever-familiar sound to reveal.. BACKFIRE!! Combat: Backfire sets his defense level to Protected.Brainstorm begins to pay more attention, kinda. He watches as Blurr performs amazing stunts and connects with his flashy attacks. "Ok, Ok, not bad, Blurr. I'll give ya that." Brainstorm is even paying enough attention this time to notice Blitzwing coming after him. He ducks out of the way in time. "Wup!" But he remains affronted that Blitzwing has been taking absolutely no care at all concerning all these wonderful dead carcasses everywhere. The tank keeps crunching them left and right. "Heeeey now, you have no respect for raw materials! I'm afraid I can't allow you to continue this..." So he whips up his guns and fires again! Combat: Brainstorm strikes Blitzwing with his THESE ARE MINE I tell you attack! -2 "Not if you have to go back to Darkmount for repairs before then." Blurr taunts back, smirking victoriously as the sonic boom rips parts of Blitzwing's armor free. Wait, who the slag is 'Lightning McQueen'? Blurr has no idea. Not that he cares, though. And then he hears someone shouting SCIENCE. He transforms, turning to search for the source of the sound, and his optics fall upon the orange seeker. Hmm, that guy looked kind of familiar, he thought he'd seen him before. Ohhh...yeeeah. That one time when he was in Crystal City with Torque and Hawkeye, and they'd had these horrible holo-disguises. And they'd somehow managed to fool this guy the ENTIRE time, even after Hawkeye's disguise failed. Haha. Those were good times. "Hey, I saw you in Crystal City one time. You kept wanting to borrow a bird that was actually an Autobot." Maybe he'll get distracted by the conversation and forget to help Blitzwing? Easier than trying to shoot a flying seeker. The hovercar quickly unfolds upward and outward to reveal the fastest terrestrial Cybertronian in the galaxy, Blurr! Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Blurr takes extra time to steady himself. Pass "BLURR!" Backfire rages, taking aim with his shoulder-mounted rifle. "That was just the MOST recent of our LEGENDARY feud!!" the Seeker simpleton rages, making pew pew pews.. not only with his laser-rifle, but with his mouth as well. "Pew pew pew." Landing near Blitzwing, Backfire reaches out to lend the Decepticon a hand. "You did not tell me we were on assignment, Partner. Otherwise, I'd have brought our official Aerospace badges. You know, the shiny ones I had made special for us." Combat: Backfire misses Blurr with his Ranged and Verbal Laserfire! (Pistol) attack! Combat: Backfire (Backfire) used "Pistol": A Level 1 RANGED attack. Blitzwing continues to stalk his prey as though he were Jason in one of those horrible horror movies the humans continue to make. The rounds from the gryo rifle are placed to keep Brainstorm boxed in, providing Blitzwing the opportunity to close to the gap and enter into proper melee range. There's no way a scientist can hold his own in a brawl, right? Right. As Blitzwing nears his opponent, he shoulders the rifle on an equipment rung on his backside, then taking his electron sabre into both hands, now charging after the Autobot scientist. Blitzwing holds the blade over his head, fully intent on cleaving Brainstorm in twain. *PEW!* Blitzwing takes a solid round at point-blank range to the torso, and staggers. The triplechanger capitulates, collapsing into the morbid landscape in a smoking heap. Collecting himself a moment later, Blitzwing lurches up again and takes a knee at about the same time Backfire lands next to him. "Damnit," Blitzwing mutters under his breath. "~WE~ never were. You keep volunteering for the same patrol schedules that I do, after you see which ones I've taken! I told you to knock that off. And I also thought I told you stay and guard the base!?" Blitzwing stands, swatting Backfire's hand away in the process. "I...," Blitzwing groans, "Take a hint. I can't be seen with you. I have a reputation to uphold." Blitzwing shifts modes, exploding off into the distance. Blitzwing takes to the skies as a MiG-25PD Foxbat-E jet. Combat: MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E" begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Brainstorm continues to dodge Blitzwing. "Woah there, pal....if you want the dead turbo-foxes THAT BADLY you can HAVE THEM!" Brainstorm backs away into a corner, looking nervous- until BLurr suddenly saves the day. *Whew* But before he thinks to say "thank you" he hears one of his favorite words. What, did someone say SCIENCE? He looks over as Backfire arrives on the scene. "HEY! YOU ARE NOT ALLLOWED to practice SCIENCE!!!!" He glances over at Blurr. "Did he say he was doing science? We can't have guys like THAT doing SCIENCE! Imagine the horrors of some IDIOT like THAT calling himself a SCIENTIST. It would give reputable scientists like ME a BAD NAME." Can't have that, can we? Brainstorm raises his guns and fires at Backfire, yelling "GO GIVE YOUR BAD NAME SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUDDY!" Combat: Brainstorm sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Brainstorm misses Backfire with his You Give Science a Bad Name-Unlike Me attack! -2 Blurr sighs and steps aside, letting the pew pew pews sail past him. The real ones, that is, not the ones he made with his mouth. He laughs at Backfire's words, not bothering to waste energon attacking him back. "Legendary feud? The slag are you talking about? I tricked you at Crystal City, that was the first time I ever saw you. Plus, you seem like the type to have a 'legendary feud' with someone like Swoop. You know, since you're about as smart as he is." And then Brainstorm is raving about being a reputable scientist. He arches a brow ridge at him. "You? Worrying about getting a bad name? Ha!" he laughs. "The irony of this situation would be enough to fill Alpha Centauri fifty times." Combat: Blurr takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Recoiling as his hand is batted away, Backfire looks taken aback by the gesture and mean words. "Oh you, I get it. You're the badcop, so you're trying to stay in character. Good thinking, I will undoubtedly redouble my efforts to be your goodcop partner!" he smiles, that ever familar dopey grin. Turning to face the pair of Autobots, Backfire sidesteps from a SCIENCE cannon. "Alright, which one do you want? I should no doubt take on Blurr, we have a rivalry that spans eons in the works. That and I'm like.. pretty fast myself. On that note, I want to steal his legs and have them implanted on my body. But still keep my legs, I'll be the first Centaur-Seeker to ever grace the Empire. It shall be GLORIOUS!!" Backfire rambles on, not paying attention to what is going on. "You should probably take on Brainstorm, but be careful. He's into SCIENCE and stuff. Which means he'll probably want to kidnap you and do weird things to your head. Or body. Yeeeeeeeeeeah." he finishes. "Sound good?" Turning around, Backfire realizes that Blitzwing has already bugged out of the area. A look of befuddlement washes over his face, he idly scratches his headplate. "Oh uh, he'll be back. He's probably building up momentum to RAM you with. I think." Backfire explains to Blurr and Brainstorm. "So uhh, I just flew in from Darkmount.. and boy are my wings tired!" Crickets chirp. Backfire shrugs, "Tough crowd." Combat: Backfire misses Blurr with his Bad Joke Area attack! -2 Combat: Backfire (Backfire) used "Tainted Love": A Level 0 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Backfire misses Brainstorm with his Bad Joke Area attack! -2 Brainstorm scoffs at Blurr. "You obviously just don't understand the gravity of this situation, Blurr. It's a good thing that I'm here to sort this out while you do...whatever it is." He waves the other 'Bot off. Then he listens to Backfire. "Actually.... that's....kind of an interesting idea. ALL of it." He stops and ponders the possibilities for a moment. He only gets a moment, however, as missiles head his way and he is able to dodge just in time! "Backfire, while I sympathise with your desire to do science, I'm afraid I must ask you to do it somewhere else. Even if....some of it actually sounds kinda cool. BUT NO MATTER- I won't allow you to do strange things to my friend Blurr here! (*whisper*That's for me to do....*/whisper*) The Headmaster strikes at Backfire again! Combat: Brainstorm strikes Backfire with his Blinding You With Science attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Backfire's Accuracy. (Blinded) Blurr stares at Backfire. Yeah, nope, still not remembering any kind of eons-old rivalry. You know, this kind of reminds him of that one minibot, who kept insisting that he knew him from before the war, because they were going to start a bar together. Never did quite catch his name. "Momentum? Nah, I think he's too embarrassed to be around you. Not that I blame him. You know, since you just gave away an attack strategy. Not that he was using it, but if he had been planning on it, you would've jyst given us ample warning to get out of the way, you know?" And then Backfire goes on. And on. And on....Primus, and people thought Blurr was a motormouth? And now he's even going on about having four legs. Oh, wait, there was one other time he saw this guy, it was at Autobot City in a terrible Moonracer costume...Blurr grins at the orange seeker. "You want my legs, huh?" "Well come get 'em." Combat: Blurr takes extra time to steady himself. Pass "Get your own ideas!" Backfire shouts at Brainstorm, "I mean, if you're even capable of coming up with any as GLORIOUS as mine!" the Seeker continues, then his vision is engulfed by a bright flash. "AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-YOU'VE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE!" the Seeker rages, punching his own optics to get them to come back online. This is probably not wise. But when has 'wise' and 'Backfire' ever belonged in the same sentence? And then Blurr's voice reaches his audio receptors. "Well, maybe we knew you'd think that he was running away.. so we acted like I didn't know that and I was giving up his strategy.. when in reality we knew you'd think that we'd think that so that means.." Backfire trails, trying to do the math on his fingers.. albeit blinded still. "He really did run away?" his shoulders slouch. Combat: Backfire strikes himself with his UNBLIND WITH PUNCHES! (Grab) attack! "MY IDEAS ARE PERFECTLY GLORIOUS!" Brainstorm huffs at Backfire. But the response to Brainstorm's flashy attack is satisfying. "WELL. I am just cool like that, Backfire. It's the mark of true genius." He looks smug. ...Then slightly confused as Backfire punches himself in the face. "Hmmm...is that an expiriment in reverse psychology or something? You attack yourself so we feel compelled not to?" he shakes his head. "Sorry, pal, but I MARCH TO THE BEAT of a DIFFERENT DRUMMER. I *reject* your reverse psychology and apply...reverse psychology SQUARED!" With that, Brainstorm fires photons at the 'Con. Combat: Brainstorm strikes Backfire with his Take That psychoanalysis! attack! Blurr is finding this conversation between Brainstorm and Backfire extremely amusing. And then Backfire is also punching himself in the face while trying to use that thing called logic. Hah, he hasn't seen comedy this good since before the war! But, instead of bursting out laughing, the speedster stifles it back and feigns an apologetic look, sighing as he shakes his head in a 'sad' manner. "Yup, looks like he really did bail on you, mech." he says, sauntering up to Backfire and slinging an arm around his shoulder, even as Brainstorm shoots at the seeker. The courier somehow manages to not get hit because he's just that good, yeah. "Too bad, maybe next time you're fighting alongside him, you should give him a taste of his own tailpipe grease and abandon HIM to take down Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus alone. Then maybe he won't leave his partner behind any more." Combat: Blurr misses Backfire with his Advice from me to you. (Grab) attack! Busily beating himself senseless in the face again, Backfire's optics come online very shortly afterward. Take that, REASON and LOGIC! But alas, a photon cannon discharge lands right dead center of his chest and sends him flying end over end. Toppled, and still rolling, Backfire lances out an arm to catch himself and slow his momentum. Slowly getting to his feet, the Seeker rubs his optics and temples. "Woah." is all he manages to let out, before breaking down into some mindless debate over Decepticon comm channels. Attention turned back to the battlefield, Backfire shakes a fist at Brainstorm. "Here me this day, BRIANSTORM!" he unintentionally mangles the Headmaster's name, or maybe he actually thinks it is Brian. Who knows? "You will rue the day you encurred my WRATH, I will rain molten slag upon your head.. and the heads of anyone you associate with! Ashes will flow from the sky, ruining your barbecue.. paper from reports will lash out and give you cuts.. everyone will tell you that your motherboard is overweight." he seethes. "ALL BECAUSE YOU MADE BACKFIRE, GLORY OF THE EMPIRE, YOUR HATED RIVAL THIS DAY BRIANSTORM!!" Blurr's jest is ignored, as Backfire transforms into his altmode and takes to the skies.. no doubt plotting his revenge against the Headmaster Scientist. A shake, shudder, and shiver; and before your eyes BACKFIRE transforms into a F-16C Agile Falcon! Combat: F-16C Agile Falcon begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Brainstorm waves a fist as the Con beats a retreat. "WHAT. What did you say about my barbecue???!!! You are NOT ALLOWED ANYWHERE NEAR that." Enraged, he turns around and looks at Blurr. Calming down, he tilts his head slightly and scratches it. "Uh...Blurr, do you know who the slag Brianstorm is?" Blurr throws Brainstorm a sideways glance as Backfire leaves, smirking. "Congrulations, you've just acquired the stupidest Decepticon in the galaxy as an arch-rival." "Oh, I think it's you. He just butchered your name. Don't be surprised...I should show you the report from that one encounter in Crystal City a few deca-cycles ago." Brainstorm rubs a hand absent-mindedly on his faceplate. "Huh. Really. ....An arch-rival." He looks deadly serious for a moment, then his expression turns into a happy gleam. "COOOOOOOL." Happy again, he returns to collecting turbo-fox carcasses- generally going for the non-smushed variety.